Study of the Efficiency of Toluene and Benzene Vapor Adsorption by Activated Carbons

Abstract

The article compares the efficiency of toluene and benzene vapor adsorption using activated carbons such as KAU, BAU-A, AG-3 (Russian Federation), and EcoSorb (Germany). The adsorption capacity of these sorbents is determined, and the kinetics of vapor adsorption of these solvents is studied at a temperature of 25 ± 1 °C and atmospheric pressure. The highest adsorption capacity for toluene and benzene was shown by EcoSorb activated carbon, followed by AG-3 and BAU-A activated carbons, and the lowest adsorption capacity was shown by KAU activated carbon. For benzene vapors, a faster adsorption rate was observed, which was determined by the smaller size of the molecules compared to toluene and the higher diffusion capacity. However, toluene demonstrated a slightly higher specific adsorption capacity than benzene. It is shown that the kinetics of vapor absorption of both solvents is best described by a pseudo-second-order equation for all the studied adsorbents, which indicates the limiting nature of chemisorption in the overall scheme of the process under consideration. The less pronounced correlation of the experimental data with the Morris --- Weber equation indicates a minor influence of diffusion factors on the overall adsorption rate. The obtained results allow us to draw conclusions about the commonality of the mechanism of adsorption of benzene and toluene vapors by the adsorbents used in the study, and also emphasize the importance of the influence of the physical and chemical properties of the adsorbates and adsorbents on the technical characteristics of adsorption

The work was supported by the Priority 2030 Strategic Academic Leadership Program

Please cite this article in English as:

Tewelde T.S., Markova E.B., Boldyrev V.S., et al. Study of the efficiency of toluene and benzene vapor adsorption by activated carbons. Herald of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Series Natural Sciences, 2026, no. 2 (125), pp. 94--110 (in Russ.). EDN: VUUZNE

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